Business

OpSec Security has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Zacco, a leading intellectual property (IP) management and protection company, headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark. The acquisition is expected to complete in the coming weeks, subject to closing conditions and necessary approvals.

Tracing their origins back to 1870, Zacco has more recently pioneered an innovative approach to IP optimisation that unites traditional legal expertise with digital brand management and security.

For clients, this means that all aspects of brand ideas, assets, and identity are managed and protected. At the heart of the model is an IP management portal, which allows Zacco’s approximately 500 employees to collaborate globally for their clients.

“This is truly a defining moment for OpSec, from our origins as a provider of optical security to an IP and brand solutions business,” noted Dr Selva Selvaratnam, Chief Executive of OpSec Security. “It is just over three years since we expanded our offering to include online brand and content protection, and the acquisition of Zacco accelerates that momentum with the addition of a highly respected IP management business. I have been immensely impressed by how Mats and the team are transforming their model to pursue a new approach to IP. Their reputation in IP management is outstanding, with the Zacco patent practice particularly well established and offering significant further potential. This is the next step in an expansive strategy to bring together our full lifecycle solution for brand and IP optimisation, monetisation and protection.”

Looking ahead, OpSec expects to combine the respective strengths of the two businesses to help customers maximise the value of their IP portfolios, take advantage of new opportunities, and counter vulnerabilities and threats these may bring. This unified approach to optimising IP and brands will also bring practical benefits across the IP lifecycle, with Zacco focused upstream on establishing IP rights, while OpSec helps monetise and assert these rights downstream.

“As a business that has endured over 150 years, it was important that our next step was with the right partner,” said Mats Boström, Chief Executive of Zacco. “OpSec brings its own heritage as a respected global player in physical and digital brand protection, as well as an impressive portfolio of solutions and innovative technologies. The team at Zacco is looking forward to working with Selva and the OpSec team to bring our joint portfolio to our respective customers in Europe and beyond.”

“We are on a journey to transform the management of IP,” added Jesper Kongstad, Vice Chairman of Zacco. “Our technology enabled approach brings together our team of IP management experts with a modern software portal to help manage the complexities inherent in large, diverse IP portfolios. OpSec applies similar principles in its own business, and it will be exciting to explore the opportunities this presents.”

The combined business will count around two thirds of the Interbrand Best Global Brands 2022 among its customers, including 19 of those in the top 25. Working with brand owners of this caliber has been a notable characteristic of both OpSec and Zacco to date and, looking ahead, focusing on the needs of these leading brands will remain an enduring priority.